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Crace Roundabout

What is the go with Crace roundabout? A single lane approaches a roundabout then it becomes two lanes to facilitate the movement of traffic and then merges back into one lane.

At Crace roundabout, heading toward the Barton Highway, drivers seem to have the moronic idea that they are meant to queue on the outside lane all the way back to bloody Palmerston. God help you if you have the temerity to actually use the inside lane of the roundabout as it’s intended.

You have the morons in the outside lane fuming at you for using the inside lane when it’s acceptable to do so. I’m looking forward to other rioters comments on this. I’m sure I will be blasted.

What’s Your opinion?

You’re doing everything correct, no need to change just because some people get their knickers in a knot.

I particularly like coming up to roadworks with a sign saying that 1 lane of a multiple lane road is closed and everyone merges into the one open lane leaving a few 100 metres of usable lane clear, right up to where the lane has witches hats to merge you across.

Why don’t people realise that if you used both lanes until you had to then the queue would be shorter?
If you knew how to drive you’d realise that is should not slow you down 1 iota if someone is merging into your lane; especially when it’s slow moving traffic

I can’t stand people using the inside lane to overtake. It is not, as you put it, its intended use. The intended use is for people who actually want to turn at a roundabout.

No it’s not. If it has an arrow for going straight and right, then its use is for going straight and right. Anyway I digest….

Unfortunately this isn’t the only roundabout in Canberra with this issue. I agree that Canberra drivers are mostly crap at merging, but look at the infrastructure. Gundaroo Dr and Majura Rd have the same crappy roundabouts when both should be dual lane in each direction. And the other one I love is the “Form 2 Lanes” signs in 80km/h zones, with no notice of which one of the outside lanes is about to merge. Those are downright dangerous for those who don’t know the roads, as are these roundabouts. I call for patience, as we’re all stuck with the same atrocious infrastructure brought on by shithouse forward planning.

I can’t stand people using the inside lane to overtake. It is not, as you put it, its intended use. The intended use is for people who actually want to turn at a roundabout. While it’s perfectly fine to use either lane while traffic is flowing, you really are just about a jerk switching lanes in order to get two car spaces ahead in a line of traffic.

As people have pointed out, some people are terrible at merging, and in jumping out and then forcing people to merge again, you are only slowing traffic down for everybody for the sake of saving yourself 5 seconds.

William Hovell 2 lanes to one lane and back to 2 lanes, every morning I feel it is a government created bottle neck to stop West Belconnen blocking up the gridlock interchange. If C-Crossing had a major upgrade to freeway status then 10%-20% of traffic would be bypassed between Belco and Woden/Tuggers.

Because it’s bloody rude and unecessary to use it as your own personal overtaking lane.quote]
That’s just it, Rollersk8r, I don’t understand why it is ‘bloody rude’ when I am using it for the purpose it was designed for. It’s not my fault that people are foolish and don’t use it and would rather line up single file for God knows how long.

Given the amount of practice Canberrans get at merging it still baffles me why so many people can’t grasp the concept…

My personal favourites are the people that get right to the point where merging is required before they start to have a look at what’s around them, only to come to a complete halt whilst they make their incredibily difficult merging decision.

Given that Canberrans are so rubbish at merging, does the splitting of lanes around roundabouts actually help traffic flow or does it just make people angry, as evidence by this thread?

The roundabouts between Canberra airport and Queanbeyan are the same and drivers seem to regard the inside lane as an opportunity to practice taking the ‘racing line’ in order to get one car length ahead. Brilliant.

When the traffic is actually moving don’t use the inside lane because as mentioned people can’t seem to merge efficiently so everyone just comes to a stop because of 1 car. If the traffic is already at a stop then i think you are more justified using it.

It is definitely one of the triggers for aggressive drives out there who swerve across to block the spare lane when someone decides to ‘run the gauntlet’.

I think they build them like that to cut costs in the future for when they double lane up to the roundabout. In the mean time they should make the left lane a left turn only with no option to go straight maybe.

I’m not sure who is responsible for the spate of short-sighted road developments in Canberra, but they should be publically flogged for their incompetence. The Crace roundabout is a nugget of failure atop the turd that is Gundaroo Drive.

I always use the inside lane at the Abena Avenue/Gundaroo Drive intersection at Crace, when the outside lane is busy. That is, after all, what lanes are for – and it makes the queue of traffic behind you – between Abena Avenue and Nudurr Drive, that little bit shorter.

I’m not a huge fan of the roundabout undertakers. You already have hundreds of cars in a queue, going nowhere. Its frustrating but orderly. Then someone decides to jump the queue to get a grand total of two spots further up and pisses off everyone else who is waiting patiently. Are you more important than everyone else?

I hate the Gungahlin Drive/Barton Highway merge – come off the highway, and merge at the end of the merging lane, not the start.

I’m with you GrumpyRHonda … we have lanes there for a reason. If people are unable/unwilling to merge when two lanes turn into one that’s not my problem.

Indeed, a very good way to make movement through Sydney traffic slightly less painful is to use the inside lanes that are, more often than not, virtually empty.

The new four lane section of the Hume has to be seen to be believed, haha. Madness! God forbid anyone should actually use the two new inside lanes that have just been added. Imagine the social stigma if someone saw you in those “slow” lanes?!

It also happens at the roundabouts on Majura Ave out near Brand Depot.

However, people there seem to stick to the right lane, which enables the people to exit off to BD, or join in from that area.

Whilst I would normally agree that splitting to two lanes will help, perhaps you haven’t noticed that Canberra drivers are woeful at merging. It (splitting and rejoining) would only lead to a significant choke-point that will just slow everything down more.